Dead City
Goddamn the 21st Century
Thrashed! (2009)
To create a preface for the reader I'm going to backtrack a bit. I grew up during an amazing time for metalcore - before Victory Records became giant media whores. So noted I have a very obvious soft spot that style of hardcore. This may be helpful information for you since Dead City compares their sound to that of Crowbar, … Read more
Dead Cross
Dead Cross
Ipecac (2017)
When ex-Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo announced a new hardcore project, this reviewer was on board. When Lombardo later announced that the new vocalist for his hardcore project would be none other than Mike Patton? Well, it's safe to say that it quickly became one of the most anticipated releases of 2017.But here's the thing with album anticipation - it can … Read more
Dead Cross
II
Ipecac (2022)
Dead Cross consists of only four members. Vocalist Mike Patton, bassist Justin Pearson, guitarist Michael Crain and drummer Dave Lombardo. Between these four gentlemen, I could list the other bands they currently play in and meet my word count quota in less than five minutes. Suffice to say, these are not guys to rest on their laurels and the literal … Read more
Dead End Drive-In
A Worthwhile Endeavour
Early Onset Records (2023)
Discontent, a few degrees away from unease, oozes from the riffs of Dead End Drive-In’s new album, A Worthwhile Endeavour. Another release from Early Onset Records’ recent slew of disillusioned bands, Dead End Drive-In treads along a well worn path, much like labelmates Stuttr and Brass. On paper the existential crises might be getting old but on record the band makes a, dare I say, … Read more
Dead Hearts
Bitter Verses
Ferret (2006)
Sometimes a record comes along that just floors me and it's hard to find words to put to paper. I've had a couple of records do this to me lately and Dead Hearts most recent effort, Bitter Verses, is one of them. If I had to choose three words, and three words only, to describe this release, they would be … Read more
Dead Hearts
Dead Hearts
State of Mind (2004)
The melding of hardcore and rock-n-roll seems to be quite the rave as of late. So when you have a sudden influx of bands taking aim at a new look of an established genre, you are going to get the full spectrum. That is to say you'll get everything from fantastic to downright horrible. With their self-titled release, Dead Hearts … Read more
Dead Hearts
No Love, No Hope
Reflections (2005)
"Buffalo is the second largest city in New York State but it's dying slowly, it's a cold gray place: rusting where the Niagara River meets Lake Erie. I've seen a lot of people watch their dreams get crushed by this city. It seems like Buffalo just gets into your blood and poisons it with cynicism and bitterness. We have a … Read more
Dead Meadow
Feathers
Matador (2005)
Dead Meadow, hailing from the D.C. area, formed out of The Impossible Five when they broke up in 1999. Jason Simon (guitar/vocals) Steve Kille (bass) and Mark Laughlin (Drums) went on to form Dead Meadow. Laughlin quit the group in '02, and Steve McCarty joined the group for Shivering King and Others and their newest addition, Cory Shane a few … Read more
Dead Mechanical
OK Night
Toxic Pop (2013)
Dead Mechanical is one of those mid-tempo punk bands, built on life’s grimy surfaces and reflecting that tone of rough-and-tumble, down-and-out luck. The music fits this tone, drudging, cursing, and lamenting, striving for a blend of catharsis and transcendence. OK Night is their third full-length and its title just screams of that blunted worldview, neither positive nor negative.The onesheet namedrops influences of Jawbreaker and Superchunk and … Read more
Dead Swans
Anxiety And Everything Else
Bridge Nine (2012)
Good hardcore bands from the UK are a rare occurrence. Dead Swans, however, are one of the few exceptions. With a heavy melodic sound and powerful vocals from Nicholas Worthington, the band is able to pull themselves out of the realm of mediocrity. Anxiety and Everything Else is the first since Sleepwalkers three years ago, and does a good job … Read more
Dead Swans
Sleepwalkers
Bridge Nine (2009)
Dead Swans is the U.K. hardcore circuit's latest export to reach American soil, currently being championed by the folks over at Bridge Nine Records. Sleepwalkers marks the group's debut full-length and continues down a similar path of gnarling metallic hardcore that the band churned out on their previous offerings, the Southern Blue EP and split 7" with Architects. The five-piece … Read more
Dead To A Dying World
Self Titled
Tofu Carnage (2011)
I went into this review fully intending to give this band the middle finger. I can't exactly explain my thoughts behind this, but I can say that it started with how the album was introduced to me:“This self-titled, debut double-LP from Dead To A Dying World is for those who truly appreciate the aesthetic value of deluxe packaging and heavyweight … Read more
Dead to Me
Cuban Ballerina
Fat Wreck Chords (2006)
In this day and age, it seems to take way more effort than it should to get a new band's name out there. There are so many ways people can check out a new band, not to mention it's so much easier than it has been in the past. It used to be that you had to release a song … Read more
Dead to Me
Little Brother
Fat Wreck Chords (2008)
Dead to Me is one of those bands that has been generating a lot of buzz since their debut Cuban Ballerina . I never understood all the fuss. I thought they were okay, but nothing on that album really stood out to me. And I didn't listen to it enough to have it really grow on me, as some people … Read more
Dead to Me
Moscow Penny Ante
Fat Wreck Chords (2011)
After listening to Dead To Me’s latest release Moscow Penny Ante it made me think about something bassist/vocalist Chicken said the last time I interviewed him. I asked him if he agreed that the band’s sound had seemed to change from the release of their first LP Cuban Ballerina. “I do agree with that and I’m proud of it. I … Read more
Dead Vows
Bad Blood
Refoundation (2008)
Bad Blood is the debut effort from Swedish hardcore outfit Dead Vows. This release is my first exposure to the band, though I am familiar with one member's other group - Anchor. Dead Vows serve up eleven tracks that whip by in just about a half-hour's time. "We're All Judas" leads the album off with a fast-paced hardcore sound reminiscent … Read more
Dead Will Rise
Entrepreneur
Twelve Gauge (2008)
Dead Will Rise is one of the recent signings to Twelve Gauge Records. While the label mainly sets it focus in the hardcore world, they do also dabbled in the spectrum of death metal/grindcore. And the latter is what you get with Ohio's Dead Will Rise. Entrepreneur is the band's second EP release, on which these upstarts blast through seven … Read more
Deadbird
Twilight Ritual
At A Loss (2008)
Right off the bat, allow me to bring notice to the cover art for Deadbird's latest album, Twilight Ritual (following up 2005's The Head and the Heat) because it is rather stunning; John Baizley (guitarist/ vocalist of Baroness, and artist for such bands as Torche, Darkest Hour, Pig Destroyer as well as his own) continues his busy schedule of art … Read more
